A company spokesperson told PetroleumNews from Tokyo the company was considering selling stakes in the Ichthys project and had received some interest from buyers.

The spokesperson added that while the company was in discussions with potential parties, no agreement had been reached "at this moment" and no other details as to the size of any stake would be released.

A preliminary agreement is expected to be signed before the company makes a final investment decision on the project in the fourth quarter of next year.

FID was originally expected sometime this year but was ruled out in May with no reasons given for decision.

Last month, the company announced a 520 billion yen ($A6.7 billion) global share offering aimed primarily at financing the $US20 billion ($A22 billion) Ichthys project.

The Ichthys project includes plans for what could be the world's largest floating processing platform, capable of stripping out 100,000 barrels of condensate per day, as well as a subsea pipeline of more than 850 kilometres long to the onshore liquefied natural gas plant at Blaydin Point in Darwin.

Ichthys will have an initial output of 8.4 million tonnes per annum of LNG from two trains. It will also produce about 1.6MMtpa of liquefied petroleum gas. First gas is expected in 2016.